Summer Shade (REVAMPED)
by Nitonashstarr
Summary: A summer vacation to Miami with your best friend seems like a dream come true, until your high-school bully shows up.
1. Why are you here?

Summer Shade revamped.

 _Oh my god. I hate aeroplanes, I'm definitely gonna throw up, there's no way I can survive this. Goodbye cruel world!_

Huffing and puffing along, what seemed like an _endless_ hallway, I was getting the same sensation I did when I got dared to chug a small bottle of vodka at a dumb party years ago. A mixture of dizziness, nausea, and a _whole lot of regret._

"Ally, please stop leaning on me, and stand straight!" A voice echoed into my ears. Although I clearly heard and understood the words, they went straight through one ear and out the other. Only a soft groan escaped my lips in response.

"Oh for the love of.."

Before I knew it, I went from leaning on the soft surface of my best friend's shoulder, to a hard, airport wall that was definitely not clean. Blinking a couple of times and focusing on Trish's face, I let my lips curl to a smile. A weak smile, at that. " _Ohhh_ , hey, Trish..." I mumbled, feeling my stomach bubble.

"Yeah, hey." With a shake of her head and a gentle laugh, her hand placed on my shoulder. Trish was my best friend, and pretty much the only good friend I had. She was lucky to have her, and very grateful for her support. And not just her shoulder support when I was trying not to throw up, but emotional too. If I went to anyone about a problem, It would be her. My body now slumped against the white but not-so-white wall, I was able to wrap my head around the nausea and sickness flowing through my blood.

"Sorry, Trish." My voice dragged out a little. "I haven't been on an aeroplane since..." I paused, looking for the words to say. _Wait. That was my first time. Flying...in an aeroplane. In the air! On an aeroplane!_ "...never! That was my...first time! Oh my god Trish, I just went on an aeroplane!" I turned to face her properly, gripping both sides of her arms within my palms.

"Ally. Dawson. We have had this discussion 4 times already." She looked me dead in the eyes, eyelids halfway down her eyeballs. I could tell she was tired. Playing it off cool, I leaned off of the wall, hand making it's way to my hip.

"Hah, ah...I knew that, yeah. Just...Just messing around!" The awkward grin on my lips proved me wrong. And Trish knew that. She knew _me._

"You're a serious dork." I pouted as she spoke. "But I love you for it." As she punched my shoulder lightly, playfully, I laughed gently, finally being able to see without her vision being slightly blurred. It was the second week of summer vacation, and this trip had been planned for weeks. After arguing continuously with her parents over Skype about going away this summer, she was finally able to have them give way to her wishes, on two rules. One, No boy trouble. And two, sunblock, sunblock, sunblock. Yeah...my parents were pretty strict about certain things. Especially how I took care of myself. And if I came home with red skin all over my body and wasn't able to make up some dumb excuse like accidently spilling red paint over myself, I would get murdered. Literally. Then, I would be covered in red _doubled_. I did love my parents though. They had done so much for me, like getting me into the biggest music school in Atlanta, which I had studied at for almost a year now. Without being there, she wouldn't have found more love for music, wouldn't have learnt things I do now, and...I wouldn't have met Austin Moon. I'm pretty shocked when people don't know who he is, but then again, I shock people by telling them that I was friends with him. Their eyes go wide, jaws fall open, and they ask the same question. "Did you get to touch his hair?!". Yeah. It's the most annoying thing I've ever had to deal with in my life. _Ever._ So I stopped telling people, I kept my mouth shut. And to this day, I keep the image of his face, and the sound of his name out of my head.

We hadn't really ended on good terms anyway...

In fact, I distinctly remember his last words to me being 'Stay away from me, or else.'

And...that's what I did. No matter how much I begged, pleaded him to give me another chance, he refused. You see, I was his partner. The songs that he plays on the radio? The lyrics are scribbled down _somewhere_ in my Songbook, the Songbook that only I had touched. We spent every night, weekdays and weekends, sitting in the living room of my house, creating songs together, recording them together, and ordering...pizza together. It was a connection that I had since not experienced. Ever. Well, Trish was close.

Speaking of...

"Our hotel is close to the airport, right?" I questioned Trish, dragging my suitcase across the floor, stumbling now and then. With a swift nod from Trish, I felt relief flood through me.

"Just a 15 minute cab! You can now picture yourself, Ally Dawson, walking out into the bright sunlight," Trish spread her arms wide, forcing Ally next to her, holding her tight. "...hair swaying in the wind, _sunblock firmly on_ ," I giggled at that. "and boys stares following you as your feet touch the warm, squishy sand of Miami beach." Her voice was angelic, pretending to echo her own voice. That was the classic Trish.

"Oh please, it's summar vacay, Trish! There's gonna be a lot of school kids here. Including...the popular kids. You know, the princesses of high school?" I reminded her with a mimic of her arms, spreading them wide. "I'm just here to have fun, with you." A grin formed on my lips, and reflected onto hers. With that, the two of us dragged ourselves out of the double doors of the airport.

After shutting the car door of the taxi that they had taken from the airport, my eyes rose slowly to the hotel in front of them, with enormous letters spelling "MARSH" across the top. Numerous balconies and wide windows covered the front of the hotel's display, reflecting the sun's rays and making it glow. It looked magical! Just like, hopefully, this vacation would be. Taking a deep breath of the Miami air into my lungs, a large smile took up ¾ of my face. Trish could tell, as she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. Suitcase rumbling behind me like a storm, we both approached the receptionist desk. A blonde lady sat behind the desk, eyes raising, full of light.

"Good morning, ladies!" Her mouth spread to a smile. "How may I help you?"

"G-Good morning, Miss!" Trish stood on her tiptoes, her small height proving difficult to get above the desk. A small giggle surfaced on my lips. I interrupted her, as she continued to struggle.

"We're booked under the name 'Dawson'." Placing the tickets on the desk that I had, I took a small step back, politely. Trish, by this point, had just about managed to raise her eyes over the desk. After an examination of her tickets, and a fiddle around of her draws, the receptionist gave us a smile and handed me the keys, which I took eagerly, excitement buzzing inside me.

"Your room is number 9, up the first set of stairs and to the right. Have a pleasant stay, and please don't be afraid to call reception if you need anything."

And with that, they were free to run with pure excitement up the first set of stairs as instructed. Letting out shared squeals, we both had no trouble finding our room, which I stuffed my key into the door's keyhole, turned quickly, and burst the door open. I allowed Trish to follow me, and jumped onto the first bed that was in plain sight of me. "Hey, you can't claim your bed first!" Trish let out a soft laugh after her words. Cheekily, I stuck my tongue out at her, throwing a pillow towards her.

"As if you'd want a bed by the window." I replied, to which she agreed, heading towards the living room and settling down. I joined her not too long afterwards, having unpacked my songbook, phone charger and purse onto the bed that was now claimed mine. Slumping down right next to Trish, my legs stretched out as full as they could, Trish doing the same.

"This is great. We have this whole place to ourselves. We can have whatever we want for breakfast, oh! And...guess what." Trish jumped up after she began to speak, reaching to grab a box from underneath the TV. "..Monopolyyyy!"

"Oh, god." I laughed a little more, standing up and grabbing the box. "I haven't played this in years, well, the last time I did...was with..." Pausing in the middle of my words, I heard muffled voices coming from outside of the door across the room. I shared a glance with Trish, before hearing the handle being played with. Acting on my instinct, my feet slipped across the room towards the door, hand landing on the metal object, tightening my grip on it. "Um, t-this is...occupied!" I called out, holding my full body weight to it too, just in case they were able to open it. Who was trying to get in? And...why? They went to the right room, right? Oh god, not this situation ag-

"This isn't funny, this is my room!" A male voice returned. A frown forming on my face, I grumbled to myself, giving Trish a confused look. A shrug from her, proved there was nothing that Ally knew what to do in this situation. Not even being able to have 5 minutes of vacation without being interrupted...

"Well, I think you're wrong. This is my room." I responded, feeling more...dominant. More free. It felt _good._

"Open the damn door!" _Okay. Well...My dominance doesn't go that far._

Not having much of a choice, my hand tightened on the metal handle, and it twisted, pulling the door wide open. And in the doorway, arched perfectly for his height and posture stood "Superstar" Austin Moon. The Overnight Sensation, My old best friend, My bully of senior year.

"You have got to be kidding me." My words were muffled, as the sheer shock of the sight in front of me. It was like his bleached blonde hair actually blinded me.

"You coulda said that twice." Austin responded with a deeper frown forming on his face, reminding me of the face he pulled as he let me go 2 years ago. "What the hell are you doing here, Ally?"

"I can ask you the same thing!" My voice rose, to which Trish began to wander over. "Are you stalking me here?"

"You think that _I_ would stalk _you_? I'm not trying to make myself throw up every second of my day, you dumbass." His harsh words had been expressed way too much to hurt me again, so I stood with arms folded, features cold.

"Shut your mouth, you're just a cold-hearted bully. No-one deserves to have the pure _knowledge_ of being your friend; you don't even know what a friend is anyway!" My voice growled slightly in hatred. Just seeing his face had set me off. Instead of the frown I wanted to see, he smiled. He actually _smiled_ , that evil son of a bitch.

"I don't have time to listen to you squeaking, this is my room." Swiftly he holds up his key, seeing as it displayed a 9 on it. Oh, shoot. No way did she actually mess up her room number! Wait…

"Oh dear, the fact you're calling Ally a dumbass when your key is faced upside down," Trish leaned forward and snatched the key out of his hand, turning it around to display a perfect 6. "…is beyond hilarious, Austin Moon." With a flick of her wrist, the key fell to the floor below him. I grinned. Seeing him get embarrassed by my own best friend was definitely memorable. Austin had a blank expression, as he bent over to pick up his key, letting out a huff.

"Fuck you, both." And with that, he was gone, dragging his red-headed friend down the hall.

There was no way I would let Austin ruin this holiday. _No damn way._

 **Thank you so much for reading. Leave a review if you want more. :)**


	2. It's fake, isn't it?

**Hey guys. Thank you so so much for the follows, favourites and reviews on Chapter 1. It means a lot, and I hope that you guys continue to enjoy the series. Just a heads up for anyone who had read the original Summer Shade, Austin is much meaner** **. I want it to be more realistic in the sense of bullying, and what it actually is like. But don't worry, you will see him soften up to his real self soon. Thanks again!**

Last night had been eventful to say the least. For myself and Trish, anyway. As I promised, I treated her to Pizza from a delivery service that was a couple blocks away from the Marsh Hotel that we were staying at. I was a rather plain girl as people would say, and got a margherita whilst Trish got the 'meaty sensation', which was a pizza that I had never seen have so much meat on before. So that was a sight! The sight I thought I would be seeing whilst in Miami was the beach, the sun and guys...but nope, my first most impressive sight of Miami on night one was a pizza. Wow, I had to really revaluate what I found interesting...

After waking up in the bed that I would be sleeping in for the next two weeks and rubbing my eyes to make sure that I was actually able to see, I made my way out of the bedroom. The silent air, and the fact that the pizza boxes were still lying on the living room floor indicated that Trish was still asleep in her bedroom which was next to mine. Not wanting to disturb her, I made my way over to my suitcase that was still leaning on the right side of my bedroom door, unzipping it to find my shower supplies. I always started the day with a steaming shower. My mother always told me the heat rids you of any bad thoughts, and prepares you for a great day. I'm not saying I believe it...but it's a nice thought. The shower was next to the kitchen, inside the bathroom, to which I was greeted with a note in the form of a sticky note on the mirror. Oh, god. What now? I approached the note and took it off from the mirror, reading it.

 **The shower is broken. Please use the public showers on the ground floor.  
Sorry for any inconvenience!**

Well that's just fantastic...I shook my head and screwed up the sticky note out of frustration, chucking it in the bathroom's bin. A public shower...that sounds like a lot of fun.

Making sure I still had my shower supplies in my hand that I carried inside a cute little bag gifted by my mother, I exited the hotel room and headed right, down the stairs that we had used when we arrived yesterday. Reaching the bottom floor, I turned and entered the next hallway which I presumed was the ground floor hallway. I confirmed my suspicions when I noticed the hanging sign further down the hall of a shower. I didn't even think that public showers in hotels still existed...maybe I should be more open-minded. I assured myself it couldn't be that bad...

Entering the shower room slowly, making sure it was the females, my hand slid against the metal as I pushed and my steps were much louder now. It looked pretty empty inside. Thank the heavens. There were two rows of showers, and the sound of running water calmed me, and the steam that blew over my face instantly. It reminded me of the steam rooms that I had visited with my family a couple of years back. Stepping forward down one row, I hesitantly entered one of the cubicles that was sectioned off from the occupied ones. Setting down my shower bag on the small stand inside, pulling the curtain across to cover up, I undressed fully. I reached on my tiptoes for the screw, grabbing it and turning it right, so that the water would start falling on me gradually. The steam bounced off of me, which was a feeling that could never be beaten. I took rather quick showers, I wasn't one of the 'long thinkers' in the shower, I mainly just got in, washed my hair with the most care, and got out. So I was quickly wrapping a towel around my body before anyone else who arrived before me. A deep sigh escaped my lips, as I approached the mirrors, looking at the steam that had covered up my image. My slim fingers reached to wipe the steam off of the material, which revealed myself, hair dripping, looking a lot darker than usual. My fingers wrapped around my soaked hair, and with a hairband I tied it into a ponytail, tight and half-way up the back of my head.

Watching myself once more, I returned to the cubicle, to dry myself off and redress into my pyjamas. I wasn't fully dry which caused my current pyjamas to get a little damp, but I was more concerned about getting out of here. So with a swift movement, I pulled open the curtain again, and headed out, dropping the towel in the towel bin on my way out for it to be cleaned up and dried.

Upon exiting the showers, I turned right and began to make my way back to my dorm. But it would take me a lot longer to get back there than I thought, as the shower room door was opened shortly after her, and a voice was heard behind her.

"Hey, you!" It was a female voice.

Turning my head, my eyes met with another girl's. She looked around the same age as me, definitely a teen, with dark skin and wavy black hair falling to her chest. She was pretty, but she had never seen her before. Raising a finger to myself, I blinked, watching her approach me. "Me?"

"Yeah," She rose her hand up to me, to which I glanced down and saw...my shower supplies. Shit. I must've left them in the showers when I was in such a hurry.

"Oh, thank you!" I exclaimed and reached to take the bag from her and hold it to my chest. "I'm so forgetful, I've never had to use a public bathroom before."

"Well you better get used to those on the beach." She spoke with a breathed laugh afterwards, smiling in my direction. She seemed rather nice, and it was a good introduction to Miami. I know I have Trish, but making other friends doesn't hurt!

"I'm sure I will eventually." I laughed and tucked a section of hair behind my ear.

A hand reached out towards me. "I'm Kira."

"Ally." I responded whilst reaching to take her hand and shake it. Wow, it didn't take long to already be making a friend here! I couldn't wait to tell Trish. If she would react well, that is...

"It's nice to meet you!" Kira pulled her hand back and began to stroke her own damp hair within her fingers. "I should probably go check up on my boyfriend. It's not usually that you find a man that takes longer than a woman in the shower." With a wink in my direction, she elbowed my arm which erupted a giggle from me, and started to walk backwards. Oh yeah. I was familiar with that for sure.

"Oh that makes two of us..." I rubbed the damp back of my neck. "I knew a guy. He loved himself more than anyone in the entire world. The only thing he loved more was his reflection." Kira laughed at that.

"That sounds exactly like my boyfriend! He has a reason to...I mean, he is famous and all."

"Wait, what?" My eyes widened. There was a famous person here?

Before Kira could answer to my dumbfounded state, a door behind her opened, followed by steam and a figure wrapped in a towel still. "Hey, baby!"

 _I swear on my life..._

Austin Moon approached Kira, his arms wrapping around her waist with eyes closed, and lips meeting the back of her head. The female giggled, whilst I stood dumbfounded, arms fallen by my sides. I wanted to leave. I wanted to run away from here as fast as possible. But my body was frozen, I was stuck. It was like I had forgotten how to move, and my eyes were stuck on the blonde that had ruined my happiness years in a row. I didn't even notice when he had opened his eyes and pulled away from Kira to look at me properly.

"Are you talking to her?" His voice felt like it pierced me, it was painful to hear. All that I associated with that voice was cruel words, threats and hatred. I had forgotten times where he even cared about me. He was a good singer, more than good, but his acting skills must have excelled more for him to be able to make me believe he really cared about me once.

"Uh, yeah, her name's-"

"I know her name." Austin's words spat at me, as he approached me, walking past Kira. "Alison Bitch Dawson." Each word was spoken like a sharp knife, edging closer by each. By the end, he was right up against my face, our noses just a couple inches away from each other. Even though I tried my hardest to stay composed, I felt my bones start to shake, and my hands were sweating way more than when I was in the steaming shower earlier. But, I didn't move, and stared Austin down.

"Back off." My voice cracked slightly, which of course made him laugh. That laugh. It made me want to...No Ally, don't. Stay calm. "I mean it, get out of my face."

"You think I'm gonna listen to you?" His voice grew quieter now, as if he was sectioning Kira out and just directing his conversation to me. "It's been a while since I've listened to you. It's not gonna start now. And you are not gonna get in the way of my relationship. Not for one-"

"It's fake, isn't it?"

To that, he seemed to grow more red in the face. From embarrassment, or anger, I couldn't tell. "What the fuck are you talking about?" His hand reached forward, grabbing my forearm. It felt weird. The kind of weird where I didn't want his touch anywhere on my body, but also the weird where I wanted that touch again, and I wanted his thumb to stroke my skin and for him to tell me everything was okay. The gentle Austin. But that Austin was gone.

"I mean that you only want a girl to show off, to play with, another heart to mess up." My voice was low too, eyebrows furrowed against my hazel eyes. "Just like you did to mine." Austin's next moves made me regret even speaking, or even breathing, as he used his grip on me to push me back, causing me to stumble from him. I managed to catch myself so that I didn't fall to embarrass myself even more, arm raising, seeing that he had left a deep red mark from where he had held me.

"You were easy. You are nothing compared to Kira. Never talk to her again, you hear me?"

At that, Kira approached us, rushing to Austin and grabbing onto his arm tightly. "Austin, are you okay?" She asked with a soft voice.

"This bitch hit me."

 _What?!_

Kira's gaze rose to me. There was no way she would believe that, right? She was right there, watching-!

"Ally, I thought you were cool." The frown on her face said otherwise to my thoughts. Oh, he really had her tied around his finger. I knew what Austin did to his 'girlfriends'.

"Kira, honestly, you don't believe that right? Look at my arm!" I rose my arm towards her, the red mark still visible.

"Self. Defence. Against your outburst. I said nothing to you, and yet again, the bitch strikes. This is why no-one likes you, Ally." Austin's words didn't even pierce me anymore. He had said his worst.

"Screw you, Ally. I thought we were going to be friends. I'm not gonna befriend someone that hits my boyfriend." The girl huffed, and pulled at Austin's arm. "Let's go, babe. Leave her."

And with that, they walked away. Not forgetting a swift flip off from Austin as they walked away, though.

I returned to my dorm, eyes tearful, and the mark on my arm not much better. Chucking my shower supplies onto the kitchen counter, I went to sit in my bedroom, shutting the door tightly, making sure that Trish didn't see me at all. It sounded like she was in the bathroom. Wiping the tears from my eyes and trying to contain myself, I pulled out my hairdryer that was still in my suitcase and plugged it into the socket on the wall next to my bed. It took around 30 minutes for my hair to be fully dry, and to get changed into a simple cute flowery shirt and tight blue pants.

Making sure I was fully composed, I exited the bedroom, and was met with a messy-hair Trish, who let out a soft gasp to seeing her. "Ally! There you are. I wondered where you were." Sighing, I let off a content smile towards my best friend, leaning against the wall behind me.

"Shower is broken, had to use the public one." I considered telling her about my run in on Austin, but decided against it. Instead, my eyes lit up and I grabbed Trish by the arms.

"How about a day by the beach?"


End file.
